Refrigerating apparatus



May 9, 1944. r.;l D BRAKE 2,348,195

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Original Filed July 18, 1941 Eem. Dfllc lBY @Troie/Yay Patented May 9, 1944 REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Earl D. Drake, Grand Rapids, Mich., assignor to Nash-Kelvinator Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation ol' Maryland Original application July :18, 1941, Serial No.

402,901. Divided and this application October 11, 194'1, Serial No. 414,581

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to refrigerating apparatus, and more particularly to cabinet construction. v

The present application is a division of my copending application, Serial No. 402,901, filed July 18, 1941, for Refrigerating apparatus, now matured into Patent No. 2,296,024.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved arrangement for securing a breaker strip to the metal Walls of a refrigerator cabinet.'

Another object of the present invention is'to provide a clip arrangement which is self-lockingly attached to one of the walls, and a breaker strip which is self-lockingly attached by means of the clip arrangement.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a metallic breaker strip formed of relatively thin metal.

A further object of the present invention is to provide the inner panel of the door of insulating material mounted in floating relation to permit free expansion and contraction thereof.

A further object is to secure the inner door panel in floating relation to the door by a resilient gasket.

The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in conjunction with the drawing, in which:

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a front View of a refrigerator cabinet with parts broken away and shown embodied therein the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken along line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross sectional View taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a fastening member embodied in the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary cross section view taken along'line 6-6 of Fig. 2; and` Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a fastening member embodied in the present invention.

Shown in the drawing is a refrigerator cabinet of the household type having a food storage compartment 22 to which access is had through opening 24. The opening is closed by a door 25. The circulating air in the compartment is cooled by a mechanical refrigerating accompanying apparatus of which the compressor-condenser unit thereof is located in a second compartment to which access maybe had through the closure member 26. As the refrigerating apparatus forms no part of the present invention, it is not shown as any of the well lknown types may be used.

The cabinet is constructed with an inner metal casing, shell" or liner 29 and an outer metal casing or shell 30. The walls of the inner and outer casing are in spaced parallel relation between which is placed suitable heat insulation material 3l. The inner y'shell 29 forms the walls of the foodstorage compartment.

The marginal edge of the outer shell 30 is inwardly turned to form a front Wall ,portion 32 peripherally about the opening 26. The portion 3l extends a terminable distance towards the inner liner where it is bent. upon itself to extend reversely towards the side wall, as at 34, to thence extend its remaining portion with the side wall, as at 35. ',I'he rear portions 34 and 35 are preferably welded to the front portion of the shell to form a portion of the side wall and the front wall of double wall thickness, and thereby add rigidity to the outer shell. l

The inner liner is outwardly anged to provide a front wall 31 extending peripherally about the opening 24. The marginal edge of the front wall portion 3T is bent at right angles to extend rearwardly and parallel to the side walls of the liner, as lat 39. The portion 3l of the inner liner and portion 3l of the outer shell terminate a spatial distance apar-tand are Joined by a relatively thin breaker strip '40.-

The breaker strip 40 is preferably formed of stainless steel or the like and is preferably formed of .010 inch thick metal, though-.other heavier material may be used and suitablycoated with enamel, or plated. Similar-' fbreaker strips are positioned along theothr' 'si`de of the cabinet on the front wall adjacent theio'penlng .24 thereof, and immediately above thel food storage compartment at the top of the ,'cabinet, and also immediately below the food storage compartment, Since the principle of', attaching the other breaker strips are the same, there is 'only shown in detail the breaker strip 40iand the way it is attached.

'.Ihe breaker strip 40 extends preferably in a convex curve from edge of outer shell over to the flange of the inner shell. One of the longitudinal edges of the breaker strip is formed U- shape, being rst bent reversely upon itself to form a double wall portion 42, thence bent at right angles to form bight section 43, thence bent to extend, as at 44, angularly towards the section 42 and having its marginal edge bent angularly outwardly, as at 45. The U-shaped section is adapted to engage over and embrace opposite sides ofthe double wall section with the portion 42 engaging the side 32 and the portion 44 engaging the side 34. The opposite longitudinal edge of the breaker strip extends to contact the front portion 31 of the inner liner and thence bent to extend inwardly, as at 41, to engage past and press downwardly upon the radiused end 50 of an L-shaped member 52 and form an interlock with the end 50 against ready withdrawal.

The member 52 comprises a leg section 53 which lies hush against the flange section 39 and is secured thereto by tongue 54 punched outwardly from the leg 53 to enter an opening 55 in flange 39 and engage the rear side of the ilange. The leg 53 is cut inwardly from each side at a determinable distance4 from its top edgeto provide inwardly ared tongues 51 at each'of the top corners which are adapted to engage and rest upon the top edge of the flange 39 and with the engagement of tongue 54 xedly lock the member 52 upon the flange.A The members 52 are attached at spaced intervals along the flange 39.

This arrangement is one which provides a rapid and easy assembly in that the members 52 are attached by moving the leg 53 flush against the side of ilange 30 so that the tongue 54 enters the opening 55 to engage the rear side of the ilange 39, and continuing the inward movement until the tongues 51 snap over the top edge of the flange 39. tends to move the leg 53 in flush engagement against the sideof the ange 39 thus with the tongues 51 in engagement over the top edge the member 52 is securely aflixed in position.- The other leg 59 of member 52 in spaced parallel relation to the front wall portion 31 of the inner liner forms a pocket therewith. The breaker strip 40 is then attached by sliding the U-shaped section over the end of the doubled wall section of the outerv shell, with the end 41 engaging the radiused end 50 on the leg 59.

The door 25 comprises an outer shell of dish like conformation having upwardly extending sides 10 which 'are bent inwardly at right angles to form a peripherally extending ledge 12. The'v extended metal from ledge 12extends downwardly to form a section 13 parallel to the sides 10 and thence bent at right angles to extend inwardly,las at 14. The ledge 14 extends peripherally `about the door parallel to the ledge 12.

Clampingly secured by an L-shaped strip 16 tov the ledge 14 is tongue 19 formed integrallyvwiththe door seal gasket 90. Preferably, the gasket 90 and the parts joined thereto are formed of resilient rubber. The strip 16 is secured byscrews A 92 which pierce the 4tongue 19 and thread into the ledge 14. Also secured by screws 92 and resting on the strip 16 are U-shaped members 94 having leg sections 96 and 91 each provided with an inwardly cut slot 99. An inner panel 00, forming the inner side of the door, is secured by resting upon the abutment |02 formed integrally with the tongue 19 and its marginal edge engaging the underside of the leg 91 of member 94. The gasket 90 lies over thekledge 12 and over a marginal portion ofthepanel so as to conceal the securing means. The gasket 90 is adapted to engage and form a seal with the front wall It will be noted that the tongue 54 gesamtv 34 of the cabinet so as to prevent air entering the food storage compartment.

Suitable heat insulation material |01 is provided between the spaced inner and outer panels of the` door. I

In the assembling of the door, the member 94 is slid by means of the slot 99 so that the leg 95 engages under the head of a respective screw, and the panel |00 set so as to engage under leg 91l with notch ||0 in alignment with the slot 99 so that a screw driver may pass through to engage the screw head for purpose of threading the screw into the ledge 11. The gasket 90 is turned upward during this operation. When the screw is fully threaded into the ledge the leg 91 will Asecurely hold down the edge of the panel against the abutment |02. This arrangement secures the panel |00 in iloating relation permitting it to freely expand or contract. This is desirous as the panel is formed of compositional matter, such as plastic, which has the tendency to absorb moisture condensed thereon which causes the panel to expand outwardly. As the expansion is not uniform throughout, but depends upon the amount of absorption, the present arrangement permits free expansion at any peripheral point for the members 94 are set at spaced intervals about the edge of the panel so that at no point is the panel pierced by any aixing means. The pressure of the leg 91 upon the edge of the panel against the resilient abutment |02 is only enough to provide frictional resistance to prevent shifting movement of the panel, but never enough to cause a bindingaction to prevent expansion.

In the door construction shown, I have disclosed the use of the U-shaped member 94. However, ln some instances, it is desirable to omit this U-shaped member entirely. When the U-shaped member is omitted the head of screw.92 will rest on member 16. When the U-shaped member is omitted, the panel |00 will rest on abutment, |02 and will be held in that position by edge ||5 of gasket which is rigid enough to hold the panel in position while permitting lateral expansion of the panel. In this instance the gasket material is the sole supporting means for the panel |00. Also,

' claim.

I claim:

A cabinet construction comprising inner and outer shells having a doorlopening formed therein, said shells having edge portions about the periphery of the door opening, the edge portion of the outer shell being bent inwardly toward the inner shell, the edgeportion of' the inner shell being bent to provide a ilange extending toward the outer shell but spaced therefrom, a short inturned flange carried by said ilange extending rearwardly from said door opening and having an opening therethrougna clip removably connected to said short inturned'ilange and having a portion extending parallel with and beyond said flange, said portion having a tongue extending through the opening of said inturned ange, ilaring tongues on said portion engaging the edge of said inturned flange for connecting the clip to said inturned flange, said clip having a. portion extending substantially parallel with the ange of the inner shell and spaced therefrom, and a breaker strip bridging the space between said shells and having one edge thereof connected to the edge portion of the outer shell and the opposite edge of said breaker strip being bent inwardly, said inwardly bent portion extending between the flange of the inner shell andthe portion of the clip which is arranged parallel to said flange for securing the breaker strip in position.

EARL D. DRAKE.. 

